Black Sun
by vbrasic.x
Summary: Two years have passed since the start of the war and a lot has changed. Ichigo didn't think he'd ever see Rukia again, and vice versa. But then, they're assigned to protect a small town in the continental US - Forks. Enter the Cullens and Bella. Set during Eclipse in the Twilight timeline. Set during the Holy War, in the Bleach timeline.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **As always, I don't own BLEACH or Twilight.

**Notes:**

_Flashbacks are in italics._

_**Thoughts which Edward reads are in bold and italicized.**_

Set during Eclipse (follows the story closely in the beginning then branches away towards the end).

–

**I. First Sight**

–

Kurosaki Ichigo sighed as Rukia called out to him for the hundredth (or maybe it was the thousandth – he had lost count), time. "We're going to be late!"

Glancing at the clock, he grunted. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. It certainly wasn't a good idea to show up late on the first day of school, especially when said school was in a different country than he was normally used to – America; where he'd been stationed. To be more precise, he'd been assigned to Forks, Washington – one of the rainiest places he'd been too. Sure, Japan had it's fair share of precipitation not to mention the occasional earthquake and tsunami, but Forks was something else.

Since he'd arrived, it hadn't stopped raining. 'I hate the rain...'

"Ichigo! We need to go!"

He sighed for the umpteenth time. Sometimes, Rukia could be a real mystery to him. He didn't understand how somebody could be so eager to attend school. Although, he figured it had something to do with the fact that she didn't exactly attend school often. It was more of an anomaly where she was concerned; an anomaly where he was concerned. He smirked. There would be plenty of time to ditch class another day at his new school. With him, skipping was almost guaranteed...

"_Miss Ochi! I need to use the bathroom!"_

"Ichigo! Seriously, do I need to come up and drag you down here! I know it's been a while but I won't hesitate to kick your ass, you do know that right?" Ichigo smiled, even though a lot had changed in the past two years, somethings really never did change.

"Sorry!" he shouted. "I'm on my way!" Quickly tugging a windbreaker over his 'Nice Vibe' shirt, Ichigo made his way downstairs. Rukia rolled her eyes as she heard him trudge slowly down the steps. 'Finally...'

"There you are," she said. "It's about time..."

"Sorry," Ichigo apologized again. "I was just thinking. We can go now."

Rukia smiled slightly – no doubt he was reminiscing about old times. It was so like him to do corny things like that. At the heart of it all, beyond the tough exterior and even tougher interior, he was a softie. 'You haven't changed at all...'

She'd been worried he would have... 'Especially af–'

"Oi!" Ichigo scowled at her. "The fuck! First you hurry my ass down here and then, when I say I'm ready to go, you stare off into the distance smiling!"

"Shut up!" Rukia huffed. "I called you fifty-seven times! What the hell were you doing up there? Because you sure as hell weren't taking a bath! You know, you really should take your mission a little more seriously – whatever it is I mean... the Royal Guard don't kid around." Rukia looked down. "If they sent you here, then something important must be here."

Ichigo stared at Rukia for a long moment before nodding. "Yeah. You're probably right..."

There was a pause, and then, "I'll get the car started. Ichigo, you should eat something before joining me. But make it quick."

And she was gone. Ichigo made his way over to the kitchen's island, grabbed an apple from a fruit bowl, and exhaled slowly before following Rukia out the door and into their car. 'Geez... this Royal Guard business is troublesome...'

–

Edward Cullen smiled as Bella pulled into the parking lot of Forks High School in her rusty (but very trusty, as Bella had put it once), red truck. He rolled his eyes – only Bella could pull that truck off, as stubborn as she was in claiming it to have personality. He wished she'd just let him buy her a new car; maybe a nice BMW I8 or Audi TT – maybe an Aston Martin Vanquish V12 to match his own. Maybe he'd get Alice to persuade Bella.

_**Yellow**_, Alice thought immediately, and he chuckled. "Deal," he muttered quietly enough for only her to hear. "You get Bella to let me buy her a new car and I'll get you a yellow Veyron."

_**You know, Edward... You really shouldn't make promises you can't keep. I'm still waiting for my Porsche.**_ Edward grinned. He would make good on that promise... Bella's scent assaulted his nose and he looked up.

"Hey," she smiled.

"Hey," he grinned back. "Good morning Bella."

"So..." she prompted.

"So," he smiled back. "Charlie ungrounded you. That's perfect... Because I was thinking that maybe you and I could go on a hike this weekend to our meadow."

Her smile grew. "Okay, sure." Edward didn't know how he'd gotten so lucky. She was perfect. Bella blushed at Edwards dazzling smile and his smile only grew.

"Great. I'll pick you up at nine."

_**Gee**_**z**, Emmett thought, _**get a room guys. The sexual tension here is too much for us to bear. We all know you two want to have some good sex. Why don't you just ditch and attend to your business. Rose and I do. **_

"Emmett," whispered Edward in warning. _**Sorry bro. I'm just saying, I mean – **_

_**Whoa, check it out. **_Edward frowned as Emmett broke off his initial thought. _**Nice car, huh bro. **_And surely enough, everyone's thoughts were directed towards a previously unknown car which had pulled into the parking lot – especially because it wasn't the type of car one would come across in the Forks High School parking lot. Besides the Cullens, nobody drove anything which could be considered remotely nice-looking.

Edward appraised the car. It wasn't what he'd consider top-of-the-line, but it was better than what most of his peers drove – a new Mazda MX-5 in black with tinted windows. _**A new student? New students? **_Alice's thoughts were confused. Had she not seen this coming? _**Edward. I don't know. I didn't see anything. I don't understand. **_Well that answered that question. Edward frowned at the car. Nobody got out. _**Edward**_, Alice thought to him, _**who is it? Can you read their minds?**_

No – he couldn't. He was used to tuning out the incessant yammer of his peers' minds, but he should have picked up on any new thoughts. He tried to focus on the car – on it's occupants (or maybe occupant; that had yet to be decided) – but there was nothing. Edward looked down at Bella who like much of the student population (not excluding the school's vampire population) was staring at the newcomer.

"Well, looks like you aren't the only students with a need for speed anymore," Bella remarked turning around to look at Edward.

"What's wrong?" Bella questioned almost instantly picking up on the tension.

Edward looked at her for a long minute before responding. "These new kids, I can't read their minds. Alice can't see their future. I don't even know if there's two or one. I don't understand."

Bella frowned at the car. "So... are they vampires then maybe?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. I can smell blood."

_**The wolves? **_Alice wondered. It certainly was a possibility. It would explain why Alice couldn't see the future. 'But it doesn't explain why I can't read their minds... or his mind... or her mind... Have the wolves developed a guard against my mind-reading?'

The car door swung open on the right. A second or two passed, and Rukia popped out to be surrounded by a group of curious Forks High School students.

"I like your dress too! It's gorgeous!"

"Why I'd love to go to Port Angeles with you!"

"Sure. I'll have lunch with you!"

Ichigo chuckled from still inside the car as he watched the student population gush over Rukia's schoolgirl act. How they couldn't see past her pitiful acting skills he couldn't understand. Even her tone was fake. 'Well... I guess somethings really don't change...'

The kids in America were the same as those back in Japan, gushing over some shiny new toy. Stepping out of the car, he sighed. He never thought he would be back here. 'High school, huh? Great...'

Luckily for him, most of the student population was occupied with Rukia to annoy him with stupid questions about his hair. Why couldn't they just get that it was natural? Was orange hair really _that_ uncommon? Running a hand through his hair, Ichigo turned to look at the few students who weren't occupied with Rukia. They weren't Bounts as the Guard had worried. They weren't human either (except for the girl with the bronze haired one), but not Bounts.

'Not Bounts,' he texted.

They weren't threats... not as far as he could tell anyways...

'Most likely not a threat. But I'll keep watch.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **As always, I don't own BLEACH or Twilight.

**Notes:**

_Flashbacks are in italics._

_**Thoughts which Edward reads are in bold and italicized.**_

**Japanese is in bold. Basically when anyone speaks Japanese, text is rendered in bold. The text will be in English, the bold font simply alerts the reader to the fact that whatever is being said is in reality being spoken in Japanese.**

Set during Eclipse (follows the story closely in the beginning then branches away towards the end).

–

**II. Motives**

–

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen." Ichigo finished tying the laces on his running shoes and looked up. So, the weirdo was in his PE class. 'Great...' he scowled. 'At least I can keep a close eye on one of them.' Although, where he was concerned, they really didn't seem too harmful – weird as hell, but not dangerous; he didn't think so.

He studied Edward's pale face for a moment and nodded. "Kurosaki Ichigo."

"So, Ichigo is your given name, according to Japanese custom."

"Yeah..." Ichigo turned to leave the change room. "You know, it's nice to meet someone who knows a thing or two."

Edward laughed. "So, I'm guessing that pretty much everyone so far has only been asking about your hair. It's natural right?"

Ichigo nodded again. He didn't blame people for wondering – it was just redundant. After answering the same question a few hundred times it got monotonous. The Cullen kid was weird, but at least he wasn't stupid.

Ichigo held the door open, waiting for Edward. "I'm guessing that being a bit weird isn't new to you though, huh, Cullen..."

"No," Edward agreed.

"Well then," Ichigo said as Edward followed him into the gymnasium from the change-room, "I guess we could be friends maybe then. Seeing as people think we're both weird and all. I mean we have some common ground. So, what do you think about that?"

Edward smiled. "Deal." Things had gone off better than he had been expecting them too. This way, he could keep an eye on the new kid whose mind he couldn't read and whose future Alice couldn't see. He'd been worried. This kid wasn't like the girl – he was more distant, more cautious in what he said, and to whom he spoke. Now, they were friends. That was something. He could watch this strange individual's movements a little bit closer.

'Ichigo Kurosaki...' he wondered. 'What are you? Why did you come to Forks? What do you want he –'

"Mr. Cullen. Mr. Kurosaki," Coach Clapp shouted from center court. "Since you two have been dawdling about in the change-room, why don't you stay behind to make up for lost time. You can help put away the nets."

Ichigo cringed slightly – the last thing he needed was to spend part of his lunch putting away volleyball nets. He had other things to do during his break. He needed to report to the Guard – tell them that he hadn't noticed anything suspicious about the Cullens; tell them that nothing seemed to be brewing in Forks, Washington as they believed there would be. He rubbed the back of his neck bowing his head. "Sorry sir, I just got a little bit lost."

From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Edward who was staring intently at Coach Clapp almost as if trying to read his way out of the situation. "Um. Cullen... Um, Edward I mean, was just helping me find my way which is why he's late as well."

_**Well... in all fairness**_, though Coach Clapp, _**he is a new transfer; new to the school, and new to the country. It must be tough. Nice of Cullen to help him out... They're all so polite... He really doesn't seem like the type to misbehave or cause mischief. **_Edward smiled knowingly. "I apologize for my tardiness sir. I'll be glad to stay after and put away nets if you'd like.

The PE teacher simply waved his hand and walked away. "Don't bother about it Edward, just don't be late again. Oh. And Ichigo..." Ichigo winced at the way Coach Clapp said his name, "Welcome to PE. You can just join a side and um, get to it..." Coach Clapp paused. "You... um... you do know how to play volleyball, right?"

Internally, Ichigo groaned. "Yes sir."

Of course he knew how to play volleyball. Just because he was from Japan didn't mean he didn't know how to play volleyball. "You know," he said, glancing at Edward, "they have the same sports in Japan as they do here. There's just a bit more emphasis on the martial arts aspect than here."

"So you took karate?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah..."

"Were you any good?" Edward laughed.

"Pretty good I'd say," smirked Ichigo. Pretty good indeed – strong enough to kick the ass of everyone in the room with a blindfold and one arm tied behind his back. "So, Edward. What do you say we play some volleyball?"

–

Ichigo smirked as he walked to the school's cafeteria. PE had gone off without a hitch. Not only had he wormed his way out of trouble with Coach Clapp, but he had also made friends with the supposed Bount and impressed his new peers with his display of raw strength and agility in volleyball. Not that he cared at all about making an impression – it was more about getting information. That was what the Guard wanted – and the more people he knew, the more easily he could achieve that. Regardless, his gossiping peers were more than likely to know a thing or two about Cullen, and more than likely willing to share their trove of theories surrounding the mystery that was the Cullen clan to anyone who was willing to listen.

"Hey!" Ichigo turned to face the boyish Mike Newton.

"Hello, you're Mike Newton right?"

"Uh, yeah." Mike grinned at him. "And you're the guy who trounced my ass at volleyball right? Future jock huh? You should come have lunch with us."

"Thanks for the offer, Mike," Ichigo replied, "but I have something to do first."

"Um sure, cool... Join us when you're ready!"

The Guard awaited. Coming to a halt at the entrance to the cafeteria, Ichigo pulled out his flip phone of which the only distinguishable feature was a small charm hanging from it in the shape of a skull. It was something Urahara devised. Basically, it was the charm which gave the phone its ability to communicate with those in other dimensions. 'Remove the charm,' Ichigo thought, 'and it becomes a normal phone.' It was perfect. If at any point someone asked to use his phone or search it for suspicious material, all he would have to do would be to remove the charm.

'Better yet,' Ichigo added as an afterthought, 'I should probably keep the charm with me, and stick it on the phone only when I need to contact someone. That way, if someone jacks my phone... it'd be useless to them...'

Secrecy was a mandate when working for the Guard. Hell, even Rukia didn't know what his assignment was. The entire Guard didn't even know what his assignment was. It was an old military tactic he had learned about. The idea behind which was if if a man defected or was tortured into revealing important information, he or she wouldn't know enough to seriously endanger the Guard.

On this particular assignment, Katashi was to be his contact. He was the only other individual who knew about his duties in Forks besides himself. Of course, he was free to contact anyone else – on the basis that he wouldn't divulge any information about his mission to anyone but Katashi. Ichigo sighed. 'Geez... that guy's a pain in the ass... Always so stuck-up and cold and serious...'

But he didn't have a choice. If he held off any longer, the Guard would become suspicious – assume that something had happened to him; maybe even assume he'd defected. So he dialed the prick's number.

One ring, two rings, three rings, four ri–

"**Kurosaki, I've been waiting to hear from you." **Katashi's was cold – unfriendly. Ichigo groaned internally. 'He's more pissed than he usually is... Dammit.'

"**Kurosaki," **Katashi's voice cut in from the other end of the line, **"perhaps you have time to waste dawdling about. However, I do not. So please just give me your report and we can both go back to enjoying our time away from each other."**

Ichigo scowled. **"Geez, is it so hard for you to say hello?"**

"**Yes. Because quite frankly it's a waste of time. Please stop this childish bickering and get on with it. Your report. I'm waiting."**

Ichigo's scowl deepened. **"Yeah. Right... Well for starters, the Cullens aren't Bounts as far as I can tell... Their reishi signatures don't match the reishi signatures of the Bounts. Not even a close resemblance."**

"**Are they or are they not a threat?"**

"**No, they're not human. But they don't seem dangerous. Their reiatsu levels are too low. They don't have enough to be able to see ghosts even."**

There was a pause on the Katashi's end. **"You've seen the readings Kurosaki." **He had seen the readings. They had received the report a week ago. There had been several readings of reiatsu fluctuations in Forks. There would be a spike of reiatsu and then nothing. **"Kurosaki..."**

"**I don't know what they are, Katashi, but it's not the Cullens, I don't think..."**

"**Then what?" **Katashi remarked. **"Then what is it, pray tell."**

"**I don't kn-" **Ichigo's eyes widened as he snapped his phone shut. "What the hell!" he muttered. "What the hell is this?"

Sure, Katashi would be pissed with him later, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

'This reiatsu... just what the hell is it?'

–

**A/N: **I don't normally do author's notes. However, I'd like to clarify that most of this story was developed before we were introduced to the Royal Guard in the manga so continuity is thrown shot out the window. That does not mean however, that I will not respect and stay true to some recent events in the manga – just not all of them.


End file.
